“Like mother like daughter!” As three miniature versions of my mom, this is not an unfamiliar phrase for my sisters and me. In honor of Mother’s Day, I wanted to share a funny story of my Mom that will hopefully give you all a little laugh.
Just a couple of weeks ago, the whole family got together to celebrate my youngest sister’s Confirmation. Bella had just passed her driver’s test, and as all sisters do, we began challenging who the better driver was.
Lilly, the middle sister, was quick to boast that she was an “awesome” driver. Anyone who has ever met Lilly knows that her personality matches her driving style to a T: bold and confident. Bella and I of course reminded Lilly of the time she was driving us home from school where everyone within the confines of the car, including the car itself, caught some serious air whilst soaring over an unexpected speed bump in the middle of an intersection. Lilly smirked at me from across the table and blurted, “Well, Carolann drove away from a cop!” Although true, I digress.
My Grandpa then joined the conversation exclaiming, “Oh, have you heard the story about your Mother?” My mom gave him a horrified look of disapproval. Let me preface this with saying that secrets are a rare commodity in the Schoenbaum household; if one so happens to present itself, we know it should be good.
My Mother, being the obedient daughter she was, just finished playing tennis with her friend Diana. It was getting dark and they were driving home down PCH. Out of the corner of her rearview mirror, she saw some red, blue, and white flashing lights behind her. “License and registration please.” Unbeknownst to the police officer, my mom was at the ripe old age of 14. Not only did she not have a license, she was not even legally permitted to operate a vehicle.
Somehow, she made it seem like she did not have a license on her. The officer went back to his car only to return and ask, “Do you even have a license?” My mom looked up at him, shook her head, “Nope!” Because this was a more lenient era, the police officer just gave my Mom a spiel about how she can’t do this again, instructed her to turn her headlights on, and ordered her to go straight home. After a good laugh, she and Diana started the car to head back. However, they ran into a slight problem being that my Mom was in reverse.
And the police officer was still parked behind her. Long story short: my Mom rear-ended the cop who had just let her go scot-free, Diana peed her pants, and the police officer was no longer as forgiving. He gave her a ticket, one more spiel, and this time reminded my Mom to make sure she was not in reverse. Confident not to screw it up this time, my mom successfully drove away from the cop only to glide right through a red light.
Mom, if you’re reading this, I hope you have the best Mother’s Day yet. I don’t know where we got so lucky to have such a selfless, beautiful, and loving mom. Thank you for for making us work for everything we do, for teaching us faith and family above all else, for reminding us to laugh at ourselves, and for loving us unconditionally. But most importantly, thank you for handing down your bad driving skills to Lilly, Bella, and me; it made for some funny stories. Hopefully, there’s more luck with Ian.
